The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is back. On July 3, the league resumed after a midseason pause for the start of the men’s World Cup. In its first-ever 16-team season, there is still almost two-thirds of the 30-game regular season to go.
Ahead of the restart, it felt like a good time to check in on the race to be the 2026 NWSL MVP and rank the individuals who have starred during the first half of the 2026 regular season.
Any MVP ranking is always a curious debate. Trying to establish what “value” really means will always be subjective. And, historically speaking, the NWSL MVP has never gone to a defender or a goalkeeper. In fact, a forward has taken home the prize in eight out of 12 seasons, with the other four being scooped up by a midfielder.
The last two NWSL MVP awards (and the last two Golden Boot trophies) have been won by Temwa Chawinga. Is there any stopping her in 2026? Sports Illustrated gives its picks at midseason.
10. Jaelin Howell, MID, Gotham FC
It has been a sneaky, not-so-bad start to 2026 for NJ/NY Gotham FC. Due to their participation in multiple extra trophies—the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, the Concacaf Women’s Champions Cup and the NWSL Challenge Cup—they have played a lot more soccer than some NWSL teams.
Of course, in the actual league, Gotham has played in fewer—11 matches, compared to 13 for some teams. Still, with two games in hand, Gotham are in fifth place and could shoot to the top of the table if they win both those games.
Gotham’s key player in this under-the-radar solid first half of the season is defensive midfielder Jaelin Howell. The 26-year-old American has started all 11 games for Gotham and leads the team in minutes with 975. Gotham boasts the best defense in the NWSL, with just five goals conceded and the second-best expected goals against (10.4). Anchoring the midfield, Howell has been a workhorse.
9. Kenza Dali, MID, San Diego Wave
Is Kenza Dali the best passer in the NWSL? The jury may be out, but there are few players who can boast the range and timing of Dali when the ball is at her feet in the final third of the pitch. The 34-year-old Frenchwoman leads the NWSL for touches (81 per match), chances created (34) and expected assists (5.01). The fact that she has only notched two assists shows that perhaps the Wave attack could be helping to finish off what she creates.
Dali is the co-captain of the league-leading Wave alongside Kennedy Wesley (more on her later) and provides crucial leadership for a team that has undergone a major roster and personality shift in the last 16 months. Her importance to the team’s style of play is matched by the respect she garners from her teammates. Dali will need to boost some of her individual statistics to truly enter the MVP race, but in terms of the value a player brings to their team, the combination of San Diego and Dali is spectacular.
8. Kate Del Fava, DEF, Utah Royals
The Utah Royals co-captain is a model of consistency and, once again, the backbone of Jimmy Coenraets’s defense. Kate Del Fava has played every minute (1,080) of the 2026 season for Utah, which includes an active 10-match undefeated streak and five consecutive shutouts between Matchweeks 5 and 10.
Del Fava has proven herself to be one of the most reliable centerbacks in the NWSL this year. She has dominated in ground duels (77% win rate) and in the air (75% win rate) and ranks sixth for interceptions with 20. A clean tackler of the ball, the 27-year-old has given up just four fouls as the Royals charged up to second in the standings.
It is extremely rare for a defensive player to be shortlisted for the MVP award, let alone win the thing. It’s gonna take Del Fava’s omnipresence in a very successful Utah team to make that improbable dream a reality.
7. Kennedy Wesley, DEF, San Diego Wave
Next up, another supremely calm center back who has been playing with a stunning combination of poise and firmness. Wesley is one of the breakout stars of 2026. The San Diego Wave defender is no longer just a prospect, and the 25-year-old has stormed into the U.S. women’s national team picture, earning some deserved starts in Emma Hayes’s lineups.
With the Wave being arguably the most confident team in the NWSL with the ball, Wesley is not only a clutch defender at the back but also essential when it comes to San Diego building possession and starting attacks. She averages 61.5 completed passes per game, the third-most in the NWSL. No one has played more minutes than Wesley, who has played every minute for top-of-the-table San Diego this season (1,170) and even popped up with a stunning equalizer in the Wave’s 3–2 comeback win over the Denver Summit in April.
6. Croix Bethune, MID, KC Current
It’s not always easy moving clubs and having to quickly develop relationships with new teammates and tactics with new coaches. With just one goal in her first six games of the season, it was an understandably slow start to 2026 for Croix Bethune after making the move from the Washington Spirit to the KC Current in the offseason.
After a slow start, Bethune banked two goals and two assists through the final seven matches leading up to the midseason break. She has now matched her 2025 regular-season haul of five goal involvements by the midway point. As the creative lynchpin of the Current midfield, there is little ceiling on what Bethune can achieve with Temwa Chawinga and Debinha playing around her as both a playmaker and finisher in the box.
5. Leicy Santos, MID, Washington Spirit
Leicy Santos is quietly having her most consistent and explosive NWSL season since arriving in 2024. The Colombian has scored four times and notched three assists, which already eclipses her totals of three and five goal involvements from her previous two seasons. Both those years were cut short for minutes due to a midsummer transfer, injuries and the Copa América Femenina.
The Washington Spirit currently sits fourth in the standings despite having played two games fewer than the league-leading Wave. There’s a good chance the Spirit could take the Shield and dominate the back half of the season. If Santos continues to be the metronome that makes the team tick, then there’s a chance she evolves into being recognized for the world-class player she is, earning a nomination for the NWSL MVP shortlist.
4. Olivia Moultrie, MID/FWD, Portland Thorns
The young veteran. At just 20 years old, Olivia Moultrie has already played over 100 games in the NWSL and is now one of the leaders on a Portland Thorns team that sits in third under new manager Robert Vilahamn. Moultrie has played in 11 of 13 matches for the Thorns this season and contributed five goals and four assists.
The return of Sophia Wilson from maternity leave has given Moultrie one of the best strikers in the world to play with, but it is Portland’s attacking depth that has brought out the best in Moultrie, with Reilyn Turner and Pietra Tordin offering different looks. Moultrie ranks fourth in the league for chances created (24). Beyond just her creativity, there’s a competitive edge and drive that puts her right in the middle of the Thorns’ renewed ambition to be the best team in the NWSL.
3. Temwa Chawinga, FWD, KC Current
Another player whose value is perhaps best quantified when she is not on the pitch. Kansas City went 1-3-0 through the first four weeks before Temwa Chawinga returned from injury. Since then, the Current have gone 7-2-0, and the reigning two-time MVP has been relentless, scoring eight goals across those eight games. Chawinga also added two assists and recorded her first NWSL hat trick in a 3–0 win over the Chicago Stars.
Chawinga’s importance to the Current’s goalscoring exploits can’t be overstated; she has scored as many goals as the rest of the roster added together. And then there are her defensive duties. Few players have the determination, intensity and patience that Chawinga has to press and track players. The Current want to defend from the front, and there is perhaps no one quite as skilled at doing just that as Chawinga. Will it be an MVP three-peat?
2. Mina Tanaka, FWD, Utah Royals
Good things happen when Mina Tanaka is on the ball. The forward loves to drop deep from the Royals’ front line and get involved in the play. A finisher and a creator, the 32-year-old has a balanced four goals and four assists in just 10 appearances for Utah at the midway point.
Part of what makes Tanaka’s value so palpable is the difference she makes for Utah. She missed the beginning of the season because she was out in Australia winning the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup with Japan, and, without her, Utah went 0-2-0. Since Tanaka returned, the Royals have not tasted defeat and have gone 7-0-3.
1. Barbra Banda, FWD, Orlando Pride
This year may well be the year of Barbra Banda. Finally, the 26-year-old Zambian is the clear MVP frontrunner. After two sensational seasons in Orlando, where she just fell short due to form in the second half of the season (2024) and then an injury (’25), everything is lining up for Banda in Year 3.
IT'S ANOTHER BANDA BRACE™️ pic.twitter.com/1cEkpv8igb
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 30, 2026
Banda currently leads the NWSL in goals (11) and is three ahead of the next closest player in Chawinga. Having featured in 12 matches and amassed more than 1,000 minutes, the Pride forward averages a goal every 91 minutes.
When we talk about value, it’s hard to look beyond Banda because of how much weight she carries for Orlando. No player in the NWSL is carrying more weight when it comes to ball-carrying, pressing and finishing. She is the epicenter of so much of their attacking and defensive shape. The Pride are the joint second-highest scorers in the NWSL, with Banda scoring 11 of their 18 of their goals (61%). Orlando’s next highest scorer is Haley McCutcheon with two.
